I received a copy of this book for a free and unbiased opinion.
It might have been me but I was expecting a little bit more of the supernatural with Shadow Key but this was more a historical fiction with gothic undertones- it had the feel of The Hound of The Baskervilles.
I really enjoyed reading about Wales and its society, its relationship with England and the how the Welsh culture was slowly being stamped out. The author has added rich historical detail which I found fascinating along with snippets of Welsh throughout the book.
There are a few unexpected twists and few I saw coming. Henry and Linette are the main point of view characters and Henry’s slow acceptance of the Welsh village was heart-warming. Unfortunately, if you are a gothic fan and have a read widely, the answers Henry and Linette seek are obvious- however it I would still recommend the book as it was enjoyable read.

Seemed a bit slow the first couple of chapters, but after a while I couldn't put this book down. The supernatural elements made it more thrilling and exciting. The story was a great read loved it.
Looking forward to reading more by Susan Stokes-Chapman.

I really enjoyed this, a well-written, well-plotted gothic mystery. Full of intrigue, malice and madness with some memorable characters and a haunting setting. Highly recommended.

A solid 5 star read
Dripping in atmosphere and creepy folklore
Surrounded by shadows and darkness
A doctor arrives in a welsh village and there is trouble afoot
A woman who lives there has an old manor house and there's something afoot there too
When the two come together...

Read in the daylight!

Meirionydd, 1783. Henry Talbot has been dismissed from his post at a prestigious London hospital. The only job he can find is as a physician in the backwaters of Wales where he can't speak the language, belief in myth and magic is rife, and the villagers treat him with bewildering suspicion. When Henry discovers his predecessor died under mysterious circumstances, he is determined to find answers.

Linette Tresilian, the unconventional mistress of Plas Helyg, lives a lonely life. Her father is long dead, her mother haunted by demons which keep her locked away in her room, and her cousin treats her with cool disdain - she has had no choice but to become fiercely self-reliant.

Linette has always suspected something is not quite right in the village, but it is only through Henry's investigations that the truth about those closest to her will come to light...a truth that will bind hers and Henry's destinies together in ways neither thought possible.

The plot was enough to draw me in, being a proud Welsh woman was another. Stokes-Chapman takes Welsh Myth and Folklore and harnesses it to keep you on your toes and guessing throughout the novel. The eeriness of the Welsh countryside setting is extremely daunting and made me feel as though I was there with the characters as they navigated the mysteries of what was happening around them.

Although Henry Talbot, the London doctor brought to rural Wales, is set to be our main protagonist, Linette, the feisty heroine of the story with whom I was most connected. Not Welsh by birth, but raised among the traditions, she becomes ingrained in the society and respects. She admires her tenants and workers whilst maintaining a personality true to her tomboy self. She is strong and takes no prisoners, which drew me to her immediately.

The treatment of the tales and myth is done wonderfully and it was so refreshing to see the Welsh language used alongside the translations. The use of Welsh names and places also filled my heart with a warmth I rarely get from a 'fantasy' or 'supernatural' novel but I did from here. The myths or their counterparts were so familiar to me, I could really invest myself in the plot and what was about to happen, which in places took me by surprise with the clever twists and turns thrown at you by the author right until the very end.

In conclusion, this is a solid five-star read and I would recommend it to anyone interested in myth and folklore with a hint of murder mystery and thriller thrown in. I cannot wait to see what the author does next.

Thank you to Random House UK for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

When Dr Henry Talbot is dismissed from his job as a physician he is desperate to find another job. He reluctantly accepts a post in Meirionydd, Within hours of arriving, his new home is destroyed, he is shot at and threatened and finds that his predecessor died in very mysterious circumstances. The villagers do not trust him and are resentful of his presence. Henry is not deterred and with the help of the lady of the house,, tries to establish himself in the village. As he does so, his scientific beliefs are questioned by local events and all is not as it seemed.
Underpinned by Welsh myths and folklore, I found this novel intriguing and difficult to put down. A great historical thriller!

A Gothic tale, told in the traditional way. Scary stuff.

After a short and disturbing introduction, "The Shadow Key" opens with Dr Henry Talbot making his long weary way to Meirionydd, in Wales. It's 1783 and for reasons we don't yet know, he has been dismissed from his post at a prestigious London hospital. He has been invited by a Lord Julian Tresilian to take up the post of physician to care for his incapacitated cousin Lady Gwen and their village of Plas Helyg. Before he even arrives, he senses suspicion and hostility from the villagers, and unable to speak Welsh, and taking the place of a beloved predecessor, he worries about having made the wrong decision.

Things take a turn for the worse when he meets his new employer, already sensing something is not right, and then discovers that his new home has been vandalised. Who is responsible and was the old Doctor's death entirely natural?

Soon Talbot finds himself at the centre of a mystery, and surrounded by people who treat him with suspicion and fear. He meets Linette Tresilian, the unconventional mistress of Plas Helyg, and her mother, haunted by demons. The aloof housekeeper and the surly butler, a wise-woman, and villagers who plainly distrust him, all go to make up a cast worth of Du Maurier. As the mystery deepens, Talbot has to work hard to earn their trust and try to solve the mystery.

This is a fine Gothic tale, told in a traditional way. It is populated with gorgeously complex characters, their motives and emotions hidden and suspect. The setting is pure folk-horror, and the village, with its long-held beliefs and superstitions, is lovingly rendered. One thing about Susan Stokes-Chapman is she does her research and her love for Wales here is clear to see.

Unfortunately I found the story a bit uneven, and there's a number of plot elements which needed to be resolved and weren't. Certain characters, especially Talbot and Linette, deserved further development. The ending felt a little rushed and contrived, but was ultimately satisfying. But overall, this is a fine Gothic tale, and fans of CJ Cooke, Sarah Perry and Laura Purcell will be delighted.

Definitely worth checking out.

From the beginning, the cover of this book appealed to me - it suggested similarities to the Essex Serpent (gothic, regional, bit dark) and I wasn't disappointed. It starts with an introduction to Henry Talbot who is a skilled London surgeon but has left Guys Hospital under a cloud. Something has caused his dismissal but it's not clear what (this is revealed later). The only job that Henry can get is as a country doctor in a Welsh village, a position that is paid for by the owner of the local mine, Julian Tresilian. In Wales, as an Englishman, he is treated with suspicion by the locals who will only speak to him in Welsh and but he gradually becomes friends with Julian's cousin, Linette Tresilian, who has inherited the big house and estate from her father and lives with her ailing mother. As he spends more time in the village, he begins to find out more about the reasons behind the villagers resentment of him.

Once I grasped who was who and their relationship to each other, I really enjoyed this book. I loved the use of Welsh language and the descriptions of life at that time for the villagers and the rich, decadent landowners. It's difficult to give a full description of the book without creating spoilers but suffice to say that the plot kept me gripped and there were some twists that I really did not expect. If you enjoy British gothic (is that a genre?) as much as me, then you'll enjoy this.

Henry Talbot travels from London to Wales to become the resident doctor for a troubled estate. He does not receive a warm welcome from the local villagers, the English Lord asks him to assess the sanity of his cousin Linette as her mother Lady Gwen appears quite mad. It is a strange and menacing household and Henry's suspicions are roused when he finds a mysterious vial in the rooms of his predecessor - was the last doctor murdered?

This is a really enjoyable tale weaving Welsh folklore, tradition and history with a supernatural mystery.

An 18th century Gothic tale set in Wales was always going to appeal to me, and the book started off really well.
Disgraced surgeon Henry Talbot is forced to accept a job in an old Welsh Manor house. His predecessor's death seems suspicious, and his arrival is met with open dislike and distrust from the Welsh villagers.
As Henry learns more about the residents of Plas Helyg, it becomes clear that all is not as it seems. The atmosphere builds well, and Linette and Julian are both strongly developed characters.
Unfortunately, after this strong start, the story started to lose its way. The pace slowed down, the initial creepiness faded, and the horror became rather clichéd. I was hoping that this would be a story of Welsh folklore, but instead, we have a Hellfire club peopled by one-dimensional caricatures. In the author's note at the end of the book, she says that she had to cut a lot of Welsh folklore out, which seems a real misstep and weakens the potential originality of the story.
The finale is rushed, with the villain delivering a great info dump of plotline in a very improbable way. Everything is far too neatly tied up in a happy ending.
And there are so many interesting threads that go no further - the lights Henry sees in the cave, Linette's interesting sexuality, Henry's detective work in London, and his Bow Street connections.
An interesting idea with some promising characters and a great setting, let down by a muddled ending that started to drift into Hammer horror territory.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, for the ARC.

This is the second book I have read by Susan Stokes-Chapman, and while not my normal genre of reading, I found this one very enjoyable.

After his dismal as a top surgeon at Guys in London Dr Henry Talbot accepts a role as family physician and doctor to the families of Plas Helyg in Wales. With a dictionary to assist him in speaking Welsh he attempts to make peace with the villagers - not an easy task based on their resentment of the English.

Lady Gwen and her daughter live in the big house, Lady Gwen is mentally unwell according to her late husband cousin due to the death of her husband.

The story takes a lot of twist and turns, with some unexpected consequences.

A good read.

Full review on Goodreads 3 stars only because not my usual read !

Great take of acceptance starting somewhere new & love .

Is all that it seems in Plas Helyg …. Is linnets suffering the same madness as her mother is Henry two or her saviour ?

Unfortunately, I was unable to read this book on my mobile.
What a pity!!!
I wish you lots of luck with the book.

Henry Talbot is relieved to take up the position of Doctor on the Penhelyg estate in Wales after suffering a blow to his career in London. The hostility of the local people seems to be his biggest problem until he realises that the former incumbent may not have died of natural causes. Is he jumping to conclusions or is something else afoot at Penhelyg?

The Shadow Key is a really good slow burn. The first half of the book is very slow but what you realise is that no word or event is wasted in setting up the twists and turns of the story in the second half. The story takes a turn that I did not expect and I really enjoyed being wrong footed.

Susan Stokes-Chapman writes strong conflicted passionate women but also creates really strong relationships between her characters. The owner of Penhelyg, Linette Tresilian, is a great character and you are with her every step of the way as she struggles with the enormity of what takes place and what she needs to come to terms with. Her friendship with Henry is, for me, the central pillar of the story. Their connection is immediate but how it evolves is really interesting. Their relationship twists and turns with the narrative which I really liked.

Susan Stokes-Chapman's love of Wales, its landscape, language and people shines through the story. In the final chapter, the last character in the novel almost merges with the author herself. I felt like I was looking at the author feeling at peace in her favourite place.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC. All the views in this review is entirely my own

A solid gothic mystery set in 18th century Wales. As a lover of historical fiction I always enjoy getting a glimpse into a time or place I don't know much about and found the setting particularly interesting from a historical perspective. The story itself is well paced and kept me guessing, even if there were times where it felt a bit over the top. Overall a very enjoyable read.

A gothic mystery set in 18th century Wales, involving Henry Talbot, a disgraced Doctor from London taking up a post at a decaying Manor House run by heiress Linette, a feisty heroine of independent mind and spirit. It’s a fairly compelling portrayal of the decadent aristocracy of its time and its interest in the supernatural but the plot was fairly predictable and the ending rather flat. The use of the Welsh language and references to Welsh folklore were well researched and the only thing that did not quite ring true for me was the idea that opening a stately home to the public for money would have been a thing in the 18th century, especially given its remote position and poor access.

With thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.

I have not read historical fiction for quite a while but decided to try this one and I really enjoyed it. The premise of the story is that Henry, a foundling, a surgeon in London loses his career after a misdiagnosis (or is it) and finds himself in rural Wales as a doctor in a Manor House looking after the mistress and the village full of miners. The miners do not take too kindly to Henry being an Englishman. Linette runs the household and her Uncle Julian comes and goes and causes upset when at the House. The story starts when Henry arrives and he butts head straightaway with Linette. He does his best to befriend the miners but that takes time and a terrible pit collapse helps that situation as they need his surgical expertise. Henry feels there is a secret in the House and it comes to light that the doctor before him died suddenly and Henry feels in strange circumstances. He also feels unsafe having been shot at in the woods. Eventually he decides that he needs to know the story of the household especially as he is intrigued as to why Linette’s mother is in bed all the time and struggles to function. The story continues at a good and interesting pace. Henry and Linette partner up to find out what secrets Uncle Julian is keeping to weird results. I enjoyed the characters especially the main ones but did not take to Julian which you will understand when you read the book. A good read indeed

A disgraced London doctor, called into the Welsh backwater by a mysterious lord, a grand house with sullen servants and two women considered mad…yup I’d say that’s a very promising start to a Gothic mystery!
This is a straightforward, narrator-led story without the usual multiple POVs, skipping timelines and other gimmicks. Although the character of Henry remains a bit blurry, other personae take up the slack easily.
Stokes-Chapman has done a thorough research into the historical background of the plot, into aspects of medicine, folklore and magic. The imaging of the Welsh landscape is beautifully and compellingly accomplished.

A good, solid 3.5 (I only give a 4 if I will re-read, but I rarely do this with mysteries, cos I know the outcome).
This was an excellent example of the modern gothic - maybe not too scary, but it harked back to Otranto quite well for me.
The author's world-building is excellent, from her use of language (not her first one) to the historical detail, and most particularly in her observation and description of the natural world. Quite possibly purists might point to some slightness in the characterisation of the two main characters (and the evil protagonists too), but this is balanced by the wonderful portrayal of the more minor characters, the villagers and the servants. The gothic style isn't meant to offer modern, realistic portrayals of character anyway, so I, for one, was not upset, particularly as the story was really quite good. There might be some minor quibbles with the storyline too - as an extrapolation from the Hellfire Club, it maybe stretched credulity a tiny bit, but again, this is par for the course with gothic stories.
On the whole, the story itself was very tightly plotted, with a decent mystery well introduced by the poor outsider doctor, and the pace of the narrative, and the spacing of "discoveries" was well done.
The use of what had seemed to be just filler backstory as pivotal points in the plot was fun and the final denouement, whilst a tad dramatic, was also well plotted and well polished.
All in all, a really quite decent mystery and homage to the early gothic novels, and absolutely excellent when you consider that it's the authors debut novel.
My thanks to Netgalley for the ARC of this book, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Readable light Gothic mystery set in Wales in the 1700s.
Henry has been dismissed from his position as a physician and lecturer in London and is sought by Lord Julian Tresilian for a position as Doctor to the family and local people in a small mining community in rural Wales. He meets fiercely independent, and unconventional for the time, Linette. Upon finding the previous Doctor died under what seems to be suspicious circumstances, the home where he was to have lived ransacked and a gunshot fired directly at him, he is drawn into a web of intrigue. Why are the locals so hostile to him, what are the secrets of the leading family and why have all the previous events occurred?

The author has clearly done solid research into the time, setting, folklore and fables. I liked the inclusion of Welsh language in some dialogue, and was glad for the Kindle translate function.

The weakness in the intriguing plot was in the resolution, as others have written it was fantastical, almost a screenplay for an action film such as Indiana Jones. How could so many have been drawn into events?

By the end I felt that I wanted to know more of Linette as there are little hints about her free spirit and sexuality but she was not fully developed, a shame as she is an interesting character.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

30/1/24